More Ways to Turn Your LaunchPad into a Push!

Ableton Push Emulation for LaunchPad, Three New Variations

My 72th Free Ableton Live Pack was inspired by the Note Mode on Ableton's Push. Like many creative efforts, the goal we set out to achieve is often different from where we wind up. My LaunchPad Push Emulation turned out to split the LaunchPad in half, each side housing a different synth. It's a lot of fun to play with and opens up lots of sonic doors.

After I released it, I was contacted by a few clever Ableton Device Rack Engineers who built and shared their own LaunchPad Push Emulations. Full disclosure, they all came a lot closer to the real thing than me. Each of them went about it a different way and they all have their benefits. After getting their permission, I am sharing these wonderful creations with you. So plug in your Novation LaunchPad, set it to User 1 mode, and get practicing!

LaunchPad Push Emulation from Yehezkel Raz

I've been meaning to share the work of Yehezkel Raz for a while. He is a certified Ableton Trainer from Tel Aviv, Israel. He runs a really great site called 4live.me . Here he shares some excellent Ableton creations. You may have seen this rad video for one of his racks, feature none other than THE DUDE!

Also, being a certified trainer, he has got his hands on a Push and may well be the world's first Push virtuoso, check out his rendition of "Flight of the BumbleBee."

(This device is only available in the Live 9 Project).

Michael McLaughlin's Nova LaunchKeys Rack

Michael McLaughlin sent me the rack pictured above. This one allows you to determine and change the velocity with a macro knob (remember the LaunchPad has a fixed velocity), determine types of scales, and adds an arpeggiator, which I found pretty fun. Michael writes for the blog Creative Edge Music, which features a ton of information on musical gear, techniques, recording, production, and artist interviews. There's a lot of cool stuff on there. He is also a part of the band Girl Electric. Check out their SoundCloud page for some music!

Colby The Heart's Turns His LaunchPad into a Push!

Colby The Heart's take on the LaunchPad Push is another cool variation. This one gives you control over the pitch, type of scale, minor or harmonic minor, and offers a chromatic mode. Colby is responsible for some cool music available at his Bandcamp. There is a nice combination of electronic and acoustic sounds in his pop music. I'm digging the sound of this a lot!

Let There Be Light

The only real contribution I am making is a group of midi tracks called "LaunchPad Lights." Make sure the output of the tracks within the group are set to your LaunchPad. If you play the first scene of clips, it will light your LaunchPad in the same way Push lights up in chromatic mode. So if you use any of the emulations, it will show you the root notes (in green) and the other notes of the major scale (in yellow). One side note, I have noticed that the LaunchPad can get a little sluggish when switching between pages. I think that is because so much midi information is being sent to it. It works, but I have seen a couple of glitchy moments. (only available in Live 9 version).

So hopefully this holds you over until your Push arrives from Ableton. All the best and many thanks to Yehezkel Raz, Michael McLaughlin, and Colby the Heart!

AfroDJMac is the work of Brian Funk, a New York-based musician, producer, and Ableton Certified Trainer. He's a writer, podcaster, and curious sound designer who loves to share his knowledge about music production and the creative process.